Nature's Lullaby
by Of Memories Past
Summary: ONE SHOT: Just a short fic about a sweet moment late one night between Inuyasha and Kagome.


DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha! Don't make me say it again!

A/N: This is a one shot. This just came to me as I remembered something from my own childhood. Enjoy!

Nature's Lullaby

By: _Of Memories Past_

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     Inuyasha jumped down from the tree he had been sleeping in, cursing the cold forest floor as his bare feet landed on the ground. Why did it have to be so cold? He lifted one foot at a time, quickly rubbing each one with his hands to try and warm them up before walking over to where his human companions were sleeping. He found himself growling quietly at the iciness that seemed to permeate the ground. Maybe he should have worn those sock things Kagome had suggested he wear.

     Kagome. She was the reason he had come down from his tree. He had heard her cry out in her sleep again. His amber eyes seemed to glow in the dark as they searched for a certain female. She obviously had chosen to move her sleeping spot. It did not take long for him to pick up her scent and as he turned his head, he found that she had moved to be directly underneath a small tree. He quickened his pace to get to her as he heard her voice cry out.

     Sweat beaded on her face as she tossed and turned, trying to get away from whatever tortured in her dreams. She clutched her sleeping bag as if it were her lifeline and continued to fight her nightmare in her sleep. 

     Crouching down beside her, Inuyasha reached forward and gently nudged her arm. "Kagome, wake up." But she would not wake. Her dream just seemed to intensify as she screamed out in her sleep.

     "Inuyasha!"

     His eyes widened as she suddenly reached forward to grab onto whatever was in front of her. And it just happened to be his hair. Her fists wrapped firmly around the silver forelocks and pulled hard. Not expecting the reaction, Inuyasha lost his balance and fell forward on top of Kagome, immediately crushing her with his weight.

     Kagome tried to yell and gasped for air. What had just knocked the wind out of her? One minute she was running from Naraku, and the next all of her air left her. Registering the weight on her body, she looked up and found a pair of slightly annoyed golden eyes staring down at her. She then felt the fine, silvery hair in her fists. Blushing, she released his silver mane.

     Inuyasha irritatedly rested his chin in his hands and slid his glance to their friends to make sure they were still asleep before turning his gaze back to her. "Nightmare?" he asked casually.

     "Yes," she whispered, licking her lips. Her racing heart began beating even faster as he adjusted his weight. He did not seem to be considering moving anytime soon, seeing he was making himself more comfortable.

     "What about?" he lazily flexed his claws, turning his attention to them. "Was it a bad one?"

     Kagome closed her eyes, the nightmare the last thing on her mind at the moment. "Inuyasha, get off."

     He smirked smugly. "Nervous?"

     "No," she growled. She turned her face and looked over to her right, trying to avoid that trademark smirk. 

     "Your heartbeat would say otherwise," he mused lightly.

     Her eyes flashed as she snapped her head back to look at him. "I really don't think that you can hear my heartbeat." Kagome knew she was lying and was about to eat her own words, but she could not help being angry at the arrogant smirk on his face.

     "Oh, I can hear it," he said lightly before leaning down close to her face. "And, it's beating faster now than it was before."

     Blushing furiously as she felt the weight of his chest against her own, Kagome began to squirm. "Inuyasha, get off!"

     A mischievous grin crossed his lips as he sat back on her. "Are you ticklish?"

     Kagome tried to hold in laughter as she felt his claws against her ribcage. "Inuyasha, stop!" She tried to sound angry but found it hard to do so as she tried to contain laughter.

     He tickled harder, smirking as he felt her shake silently with laughter.

     Between her hushed giggles, Kagome reached forward and grasped his ears, her look serious once more. "I'm going to have to pull if you don't get off."

     The hanyou finally complied and got up. He calmly sat at the base of the small tree as Kagome sat up and straightened her clothing, her eyes glaring at him the entire time. He picked the weirdest times to be playful. 

     Inuyasha held his hand out to her, silently asking her to come to him. He opened his arms when she did so, allowing her to settle in his lap with her back pressed against his chest. Absently, he began playing with her ebony tresses. "What did you dream about?"

     Sighing, she leaned back to get more comfortable. He could be sweet when he wanted to. "Naraku. He was chasing me to get the jewel shards. It's a common recurrence. Nothing special."

     Inuyasha was not convinced. "Then why scream out in your sleep?"

     "Naraku is a scary demon, you know!" Kagome whispered angrily. Suddenly, her breath caught as she felt his arms move around her waist and tighten protectively.

     "He's not ever going to get you."

     She turned to face him, sitting cross-legged in his lap. "Thank you, Inuyasha." Smiling, Kagome reached forward and gently began rubbing his ears. A small giggle escaped as he being purring and pushed his head forward so she would not have to reach so far. She laughed again, her arms around his neck as she continued scratching. "You really like this, don't you?"

     Inuyasha mumbled "yes" before comfortably resting his head under her chin. As far as he was concerned, this could last forever, and he would not complain. He felt Kagome tense for a moment and heard her heartbeat speed up, but she soon relaxed and continued massaging his ears. Slipping his arms around her waist, he reached up and began to softly scratch her back. His mother had always liked it, so he could not see why she would not.

     Kagome was surprised but pleased when she felt him scratching her back. It was something that no one had done for her in a very long time. After a few more minutes, she released his ears and sat back into his arms as they continued gently scratching her back. She eyed him warily. "Not that I'm complaining, but you're awful sweet tonight."

     "Feh," Inuyasha stubbornly turned his face from her. So what if he was being nice? Was he not allowed to show any affection to those he cared about _ever_? Frankly, he liked being in close contact with Kagome, even if he never admitted it. 

     "Oh, don't do that," she teased lightly, noticing the slight blush in his cheeks as the moonlight fell across his features. She began rubbing the arms holding her. "I'm enjoying it."

     He turned to face her and lifted and eyebrow. "Enjoying it?"

     She nodded and pulled his arms tighter around her. "Loving it. I can forget about Naraku, nightmares, I get to see you for you," she smirked as he turned his head again and growled. "I get to spend time with you without you having to worry about maintaining that 'tough guy' reputation you do around everyone else."

     Inuyasha grinned and turned back to her. She was right. He rested a hand against her cheek. "This is our secret then."

     She giggled and nodded. "Too bad though. I'm sure Kirara would love a back scratch."

     "Maybe the fire-cat."

     Kagome looked down at the ground for a moment before turning her gaze back to his amber eyes. Suddenly feeling bold, she leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. Innocent as the gesture was, she blushed profusely afterward.

     To say that Inuyasha was surprised would be an understatement. That he was astonished was clear, and he unconsciously reached his hand up to his cheek. "You kissed me."

     "On the cheek," Kagome replied in her defense. _"Though I would have liked to have kissed him elsewhere."_ A skeptical expression crossed her face as he continued to sit there in a daze. "Oh, you've been kissed before, snap out of it!" 

     Inuyasha slowly looked up. "Not since before my mother died."

     Kagome looked confused. "But Kikyo…"

     "That's different," he grumbled. "Doesn't even count. She didn't mean it."

     "Oh." Kagome looked down at the ground again. "Long time. Miss affection after that long?"

     He nodded. "Anyone would."

     Tears welled up in her eyes, and she fought to hold them back as she looked at him. His ears seemed to droop a bit at the memory of his mother and the lack of love he had received in his lifetime. It would be terrible to go from being loved and cared for so much to being suddenly ignored and loathed. Being ignored and loathed for _years_. To a child it would be nothing more than an agonizing way to suffer. And he had suffered it.

     Kagome smiled through the mist in her eyes and reached forward to embrace him. She hugged him as tightly as she could, crying at what he had been through as he tightly wrapped his arms around her and rocked her back and forth.

     "It's ok, Kagome," he whispered. "You get use to it after a while."

     She snuggled against his neck, wanting to give him everything he had missed and been neglected. She just couldn't get close enough. After a while of just holding each other she pulled back and scratched his ears quickly before leaning back against the arms he kept around her. She yawned.

     Inuyasha carefully pulled her forward and folded her into his arms again. "You need to sleep."

     "I can't even if I want to. I don't want to have another nightmare." She nestled down into his lap and rested her head in the crook of his neck. "Trust me, I'd love to get to sleep."

     He closed his eyes, trying to engrave the memory of her snuggled in his arms in his mind. "Stay with me tonight then. Nothing can harm you."

     Kagome looked up and smiled slightly. "Want to know a secret?"

     Smiling, he nodded and rested his chin atop her head, breathing in her scent. Unconsciously, he began scratching her back again. He wanted to know everything about her.

     "Even now when I get scared or have a nightmare, Mom has to come in and sing the old lullaby she sang to me when I was a baby so I can get back to sleep," she whispered sheepishly. "It's horrible."

      Inuyasha held her out in front of him and looked at her incredulously. "You mean to tell me that every night you have a nightmare, you don't go back to sleep afterward?"

     Kagome blushed and nodded her head.

     Inuyasha grumbled something inaudible and pulled her close again. "You should get more sleep."

     "I can't," she answered.

     The memory of what his mother would do for him when he had a nightmare suddenly entered his mind. He blushed in the darkness, but maybe it would help Kagome. He turned her in his lap so that she faced him and brushed the dark strands of hair from her face. "My mother used to always put me back to sleep when I had a nightmare." His golden eyes slid up to hers. "Do you want me to try what she did?"

     Missing the blush on his cheeks, Kagome nodded. She needed to get back to sleep. The next day was sure to be long.

     Inuyasha sighed, and forfeiting all rights to a peaceful morning, stood them both up and removed the red haori. He carefully spread it out on the ground and then sat on it. He reached up to grab Kagome's hand and pulled her down next to him.

     Kagome watched curiously as he did all this, but allowed him to take her hand and pull her down beside him. She grinned uncertainly when he smiled at her, noting her confusion and slight apprehension.

     "You can trust me, Kagome," he assured, leaning towards her face.

     "I know," she replied, smiling. And that smile grew larger as he affectionately rubbed his nose against hers. An uncertain looked crossed his features for a moment, causing her some confusion. "Inuyasha?"

     Inuyasha suddenly leaned forward again, a slight blush in his cheeks as he innocently placed a chaste kiss against her lips. He closed his eyes, inches from her face, before pulling back. "Sweet dreams, Kagome." He gently pulled her down to lie beside him and rested her head against his chest.

     Kagome's eyes widened at the sound of his heartbeat. But the strong, steady rhythm did its job, and she felt her eyes begin to tired slide shut. She snuggled closer to him, pressing her ear closer to his chest. The sound of his heart beating was soothing. "Your heart…" she murmured, giving in to her eyelids and allowing them to close. "…so comforting."

     Inuyasha smiled and wrapped an arm around her. "Mother always said the heartbeat was nature's lullaby. When she couldn't stay of all night to sing me to sleep, it could."

     Kagome smiled and holding back tears, sat up. 

     Curious, Inuyasha sat up with her. "Kagome?"

     "Can I kiss you goodnight?"

     What had she just asked him? Inuyasha swallowed. "Kiss me goodnight?" 

     She nodded and moved a bit closer.

     A chill ran down his spine as she got closer, and Kagome noticed how he tensed up.

     She laughed and turned his face towards her. "I'm not going to hurt you."

     Inuyasha offered a slight smile, warily watching as she brought her lips up to his. It was a quick kiss, lasting no more than a second. But even the light contact sent electricity through his body.

     "You know," she said, lying back down, "Shippo doesn't have to be the only one to get a goodnight kiss." She winked at him before closing her eyes to sleep. 

     But the sensation of kisses being placed on her mouth over and over again woke her up. She opened her eyes and smiled as Inuyasha covered her lips again and again with butterfly kisses.

     "So affectionate," she whispered, reaching up to scratch his ears as he leaned down and lightly brushed his lips across hers one last time.

     He lay back and pulled her to him again. Her head instinctively found his chest, and the firm sound of his heartbeat lulled her to sleep.

     "Nature's lullaby," Kagome murmured sleepily.

      Inuyasha smiled and silently thanked his mother before drifting off to sleep.

A/N: Just a little idea that I had to write down. I hope you all enjoyed. Please review and check out my other stories! Lot's to do with classes, but I'm writing as I find time. It's 2:30 in the morning now. Oh dear, I'm never going to get up. Oh well, it was worth it. God Bless! ~_Of Memories Past_


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